With the popularity and advancement in digital imaging, consumers may now create and edit digital multimedia objects by using known commercially available multimedia editing software products. For example, a consumer may use an image-capturing device, such as a digital camcorder or a digital camera, to record or capture events, such as a wedding or a vacation. With the help of a multimedia editing software product, the consumer inputs the recorded events to a computing device having multimedia editing software. The multimedia editing software includes a timeline on which the consumer arranges the recorded events. The consumer chooses which events to include on the timeline, the order those events are shown and the extent or duration of each event. The consumer may choose a number of options or features to add to the recorded events on the timeline. For example, the consumer may insert an overlay title on an individual video clip, image, or other media object, or on a group or sequence of video clips, images or other media objects. The consumer may also create titles that are themselves media objects on the timeline independent of any other media object. The consumer may also apply effects to a video clip, image or other media object on the timeline. For example, the consumer may apply effects that change the underlying media object to black and white or to a sepia tone; change the brightness, contrast or hue; rotate the image or cause images or media objects to fade in or out over time. Other effects may also change the audio belonging to an underlying media object; for example, to make it louder or softer or to add an echo. The consumer may also add transitions between clips, images, or other media objects. Transitions typically combine two media objects to create an image that blends the images from each media object changing during the duration of the transition, for example, fading from one media object to the other.
In the case of a number of video clips, images, or other media objects in a timeline sequence, a consumer may apply interesting sequences of titles, effects, transitions, or other features to the media objects using existing multimedia object editing software products. For example, a consumer can apply a feature such as a wipe transition to a series of video clips according to a particular pattern. In particular, the consumer may desire the following feature pattern sequence: a left-to-right wipe between the first two video clips, a right-to-left wipe between the second and third video clips, a top-down wipe between the third and fourth video clips, a bottom-up wipe between the fourth and fifth video clips, and so on, repeating this pattern of four transitions along the timeline. To achieve this pattern, the consumer may repeat applying the features to maintain the pattern as he or she continues editing the media objects and/or applying other features. After completing editing of the media objects, the consumer may output the edited media objects to a display or record them on a computer-readable medium, such as a DVD.
Over time, this process of applying a transition or other features to the entire series of video clips to maintain the feature pattern becomes overwhelming as one modifies and edits the media objects. For example, a consumer may need to adjust all transitions, effects, titles, or other features that he or she wants whenever there is a subsequent change to the order of media objects or features in a sequence. In addition, it may be tedious and laborious to choose different transitions or effects and apply them to or between media objects on the timeline to achieve the pattern one wants. Also, when a consumer inserts or deletes a media object in a sequence, the order of previously or subsequently added transitions, effects, titles, or other features may change. As an illustration using the above example where a right-to-left wipe is to appear between the second and third video clips, if the second video clip is removed or a new video clip is inserted after the second video clip, the consumer would need to rearrange all wipe transitions after the third video clip to maintain the same wipe transition pattern.
There is a need for multimedia editing software products that have the ability to dynamically apply transitions, effects, titles, or other features to media objects during editing of media objects in a sequence based on position. There is also a need for multimedia editing software which assists a consumer to track features and maintain feature characteristics (e.g., wipe or fade transition patterns) while editing and/or re-ordering media objects.
Accordingly, a system and method for features such as titles, transitions, effects, and other features is desired to address one or more of these and other needs.